PHILOSOPHY...

As a SCIENCE
O It is called science because the investigation
is systematic. It follows certain steps or it
employs certain procedures. In other words,
it is an organized body of knowledge just like
any other sciences.
As a NATURAL LIGHT OF
REASON
O Philosopher uses his natural capacity to
think or simply, human reason alone or the
so-called unaided reason.
As a STUDY OF ALL THINGS
O A philosopher studies human beings,
society, religion, language, God and plants,
among other concerns.
O A philosopher does not limit himself to a
particular object of inquiry. He questions
almost anything, if not everything. It is
multidimensional or holistic.
 As a FIRST CAUSE OR
HIGHEST PRINCIPLE
O Principle of Identity – whatever is is; and
whatever is not is not; everything is what it is.
Everything is its own being, and not being is not
being.
O Principle of Non-Contradiction – it is impossible
for a thing to be and not to be at the same time,
and at the same respect.
O Principle of Excluded Middle – a thing is either is
or is not; everything must be either be or not be;
between being and not-being, there is no middle
ground possible.
O Principle of Sufficient Reason – nothing
exists without a sufficient reason for its
being and existence.
 In attaining WISDOM..
O There is a need for EMPTYING.
O This means SIMPLICITY and HUMILITY.
O It can also be SPIRITUAL.
O It can also be PHYSICAL.
The Branches of Philosophy
O Metaphysics
O Ethics
O Epistemology
O Logic
O Aesthetics
 METAPHYSICS
O is the branch of philosophy that studies the
essence of a thing.
O This includes questions
of being, becoming, persistence, existence,
and reality.
O The word "metaphysics" comes from the
Greek words that literally mean "beyond
nature".
O "Nature" in this sense refers to the nature of
a thing, such as its cause and purpose.
O Metaphysics seeks to answer, in a "suitably
abstract and fully general manner", the
questions:
1. What is there?
2. And what is it like?
 ETHICS
O A study of the nature of moral judgments.
O Also called as moral philosophy is a branch
of philosophy that involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of
right and wrong conduct.
O The English word "ethics" is derived from an
Ancient Greek word, êthikos, which means
"relating to one's character".
 EPISTEMOLOGY
O from Greek epistēmē, meaning 'knowledge',
and logos, meaning 'logical is
the branch of philosophy concerned with the
theory of knowledge.
O Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge,
justification, and the rationality of belief.
O Epistemology addresses such questions as:
"What makes justified beliefs justified?", "What
does it mean to say that we know something?",
and fundamentally "How do we know that we
know?".
 Human knowledge may be
regarded as having two parts:
O He sees, hears and touches; he organizes in
his mind what he learns through the
SENSES.
O This method is called Induction. And the
believers of this particular idea are called
Empiricists.
O Empiricism is the view that knowledge can
be attained only through sense experience.
O It is important to find a generall law
according to w/c particular facts can be
understood or judged.
O This method is called Deduction.
O Its advocates are called Rationalists.
 LOGIC
O The term “logic” comes from the Greek word
logike and was coined by Zeno, the Stoic.
O Stoicism according to its teachings, as social
beings, the path to happiness for humans is
found in accepting this moment as it presents
itself, by not allowing ourselves to be controlled
by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, by
using our minds to understand the world around
us and to do our part in nature's plan, and by
working together and treating others fairly and
justly.
O The term Stoicism derived from the Greek
Stoa Poikile.
 AESTHETICS
O Is the science of the beautiful in its various
manifestations including the sublime, comic,
tragic, pathetic and ugly.
O To experience aesthetics, means whatever
experience has relevance to Art.
Importance of Aesthetics
O It vitalizes our knowledge - it makes our
knowledge of the world alive and useful.
O It helps us to live more deeply and richly – a
work of art helps us to rise from purely
physical existence into the realm of intellect
and the spirit.
O It brings us in touch with our culture – we
cannot shut ourselves off from the past any
more that we can shut ourselves off
geographically from the rest of the world.